Taylor Most Pure
by AveTheOwl
Summary: In a new Ga'Hoolian world, humans and owls dwell in peace.  Taylor, a normal citizen of the Great Ga'Hoole Tree, is sent on a mission to spy on the Pure Ones and find her missing friend.  But peril draws near her...
1. The Failure

"And so, Boron…" Taylor swallowed hard. She didn't know how to announce the next part to the Snowy monarch of the Great Ga'Hoole Tree. He would definitely be disappointed. Taylor and another citizen named Ursula, who is in the Search and Rescue Chaw, were sent on a mission to retrieve numerous lost little owlets and children, probably moon blinked. Some have spotted them wandering through Silverveil and the Forest Kingdom of Tyto. Since the reports described their eyes as blank and unseeing, Boron and Barran immediately suspected it to be the works of St. Aggie's. Their goal was to bring the children back to the Great Tree and reverse the effects of moon blinking so the chicks and youngsters would at least have a good life serving as a Guardian. But the quest had ended in disaster. The St. Aggie's owls were so persistent that they had spent days searching for the group. So when Taylor and Ursula arrived at the site, they were attacked by St. Aggie's. Well, Ursula was. She blocked off all attacks from Taylor and Taylor tried to fight back, but there were just too many owls. Ursula told her to go back, and Taylor had no choice but to flee. She was with at least five owlets and one baby, the most she could carry. Guilt still clawed at Taylor for abandoning Ursula there. Was she still alive? Did the St. Aggie's patrol kill her? Or did they kidnap her and take her to where they moon blink humans? Then that would mean she was serving Skench, leader of St. Aggie's, now. Taylor felt as if she might be sick after she said the next part.

"Ursula's location and status is unknown, and we were not able to rescue any more than what I've brought back. I am deeply sorry…" A loud hoot interrupted her.

"I told ya we should've sent another Search and Rescue owl with them!"

"Quiet, Bubo!" boomed Boron. He looked at Taylor. "Are you positive that those were St. Aggie's patrols? Not the Pure Ones?" She nodded gravely.

"Yes, there were all sorts of owls there: Screech, Snowy, Short-Eared, and even Hawk Owls— there were at least fifty of them."

"Fifty!" gasped a Burrowing Owl perched on a branch beside Bubo. "Their troops are rising at a faster rate than we expected."

"Yes, Sylvanaryb." Taylor looked down in shame. "I apologize, again, about our letdown in this." There was a soft fluttering and Ezylryb landed beside her.

"Now there, lassie. There's nothin' to be ashamed of. You were greatly outnumbered, and there ain't anything you can do about that. We all understand." Taylor was surprised. It was rare when Ezylryb showed his soft side.

"Thank you, Ezylryb." Barran, the other Snowy monarch, now spoke. "We now have two deadly enemies: St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls and the Pure Ones." Boron continued her speech.

"The owl kingdoms are in more danger than they have ever been before. There are two forces threatening to conquer our world. But for that reason, we will expect a war between the Pure Ones and St. Aggie's for control over us. And we can also expect a war coming for us, for they know that we will do anything to stop them." He turned to Taylor and fixed her with his yellow gaze. "You have heard from Taylor that the mission miserably—" Taylor flinched at the word— "failed. We were not able to save any more of the people in the owl kingdoms. But, this situation need not scare us. For now, you are all dismissed. But we will need to meet back here again." Boron and Barran flew off, as did all the other owls. Taylor didn't feel like flying with her black wristband. It allowed humans to glide through the air at their own will so they could fly like birds. She pushed all thoughts of Ursula away from her mind. But she could not get rid of the terrible sight she had witnessed: a whole squadron of St. Aggie's owls zooming towards her in full battle gear, battle claws and everything. There were a couple humans included in the mob with small daggers. Taylor had nearly fainted. It was Ursula who had protected her, allowing her to snatch some of the children before the St. Aggie's owls could get to them.

_"Go! Get out of here! I'll be fine, Taylor. You need to go back!"_

_"No! I'm not leaving without you! We promised each other that we would not separate. We're best friends!" _

_"I'm begging you, Taylor. You must get back to the Great Tree with those owlets."_

_She's begging of me. She's begging me to leave her here to die._

From the moment Taylor had escaped, she knew that Ursula was lying. They both knew that she would indeed _not_ be fine. Taylor walked ever so slowly to the dining hollow. Since it was getting cold at night now, most people ate inside the hollow, where it was always warm, besides the large, gaping hole in the ceiling where sunlight and moonlight would pour in. It was quite a beautiful sight. It even warmed Taylor's heart when she set eyes upon the shine.

"Hey, Taylor!" called Carrie. She beckoned for Taylor to come eat with her, Sean, and Ilene.

"Why do you look so down?" asked Sean.

"Long story…" she replied meekly. Carrie shot a look at him.

"Well I didn't know!" he spat. The black Asian rice cake sat on Taylor's plate, along with some other food. She chewed chronologically, the memory of her mission still haunting her.

"…Where's Ursula?" asked a boy sitting behind Carrie. Taylor flinched again.

"Oh my god, what happened?" asked Ilene.

"I…had to leave her behind." Everyone stared at her.

"W-what?" said Sean. Everyone knew of her important mission that she and Ursula were assigned. It was hard to think that they would fail.

"There were too many owls to fight off! And she wanted me to leave…"

"What do you mean she 'wanted?'" demanded Sean.

"She kept telling me to leave her there, to get back home. And I had to."

"Oh, come on. You could've taken those nasty owls on!"

"Uh huh. I really doubt only two people could take on fifty owls wearing sharpened battle claws."

"…Sorry."

"Yeah, you should be."

"I'm sure Ursula is fine, Taylor," assured Carrie. "Don't worry. A person like her wouldn't let herself be defeated that easily." Taylor didn't say anything. She was in the Battle Chaw, and Ursula was in the Search and Rescue Chaw. Taylor was supposed to be like Ursula, strong and determined. But she was a coward on the mission, and she blew it. Does that mean she was not meant to be in the Battle Chaw? She remembered her tapping for the chaws, when she found a pair of stone battle claws on her bed. It meant that she had been chosen to serve in the Battle Chaw. She had been so happy. She had done so well in the lessons with the wooden swords and the wrestling. Even though she had been in the Battle Chaw for two months now, she had not been permitted to wear battle claws yet. The battle claws for human hands were invented by Maya, who worked in Bubo's forge at the Great Ga'Hoole Tree. Taylor was only good at fighting. But, if she was not supposed to be in the Battle Chaw in the first place, what use could she be at the Great Ga'Hoole Tree?


	2. New Mission

That night, Taylor settled down on her soft bed. Her roommates, Axelle, Terri, and Chloe, were already sound asleep. The scar that ran along the edge of Axelle's face glittered unusually in the moonlight that shone through the silk curtains. They were draped over the entrance to the hollow. The soft sound of a trickle of water echoed through Taylor's ears as she quickly dozed off. She had not been asleep for five minutes when a rough shaking woke her up.

"What do you want?" She sat up and randomly punched the person that had been shaking her.

"Ow! Whatcha do that for?" She opened her eyes and saw one of the guards of the Parliament Hollow, a Boreal Owl. He was rubbing his beak painfully.

"Oh, sorry."

"Great, now I think my beak is cracked. Boron wants to see you again. Get a move on, face jabber."

"My name is Taylor," mumbled Taylor. She sped out of the hollow and in five seconds she was in the Parliament Hollow. That was her ability. She could run as if in slow motion or run at the speed of sound.

"Greetings, sir." Taylor bowed down in front of Ezylryb. "Where's Boron?"

"He only asked me to ask you this." Ezylryb looked down at her and narrowed his eyes. "This is top secret. Any leaking of this information could be disastrous. Ya hear me?"

"Yes, sir." Ezylryb paused before he said the next part.

"Boron has requested that you infiltrate the Pure Ones. You will go there with a fake name and fake identity and bring bags of flecks to us. We will destroy them until the Pure Ones have almost no flecks left." Taylor was dumbfounded. They wanted her to break into the Pure Ones' lair? This bird was yoicks!

"It is under our awareness that the Pure Ones have as almost as many flecks as St. Aggie's. We do not know where they got it; probably from the river in the Forest Kingdom of Ambala, but we are not sure. They are using the devastating power them to capture young Barn Owls and stray humans. They transform them into slaves and use them to kill. This is why we, as Guardians of Ga'Hoole, have to get rid of the flecks. Not once and for all. There are still tons of flecks out there, Glaux knows where. But there is more Boron wanted from you."

_More?_ Taylor nearly wailed.

"He wants you to gain access to St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls. There, you might be able to find your dear friend Ursula." Taylor's face lit up for a second, but then looked at Ezylryb in horror. What if Ursula was moon blinked? She could not stand that thought.

"We want you to rescue her and find out why the St. Aggie's owls wanted her. Those brutal creatures would never take in a Guardian of Ga'Hoole unless she had something they wanted. Do you recall Ursula owning anything peculiar? She is very interested in Trader Mags." Trader Mags was the magpie who comes every summer to trade her "treasure" for the Guardians' items. Ursula was obsessed with trading with her. Taylor knew that she had traded away a great deal of her stuff: a shell comb for a scented candle, a silver bracelet for an amber necklace and an ancient map, a scrap of fancy cloth for a piece of whirlyglass, and a lot more. None of them seemed like important material that St. Aggie's would want. Except the map, maybe. But the map had never been removed from Ursula's hollow, which was also Taylor's hollow. She knew exactly where Ursula kept the map. It was in a secret compartment that they both had created especially for it. No one, not even their roommates, could've figured out the location.

"No…Ursula didn't have anything suspicious with her," said Taylor. Ezylryb just looked at her.

_Is he doubtful about Ursula? Does he think she is a spy for St. Aggie's or something? _

"You will leave two days from now."

_Two? Three would have been ten times better!_

"St. Aggie's is southwest from here and the Pure Ones are in a castle in Ambala. Your fake name will be Arianne, and your fake human world name will be Amy. Arianne means "pure" in French, which raises the chances of the Pure Ones accepting you. Your story will be that you came to the Ga'Hoolian World in search of them. It will be the same for St. Aggie's except you will say you were looking for St. Aggie's. The Pure Ones have an unbelievably large amount of flecks. You will learn the location of flecks when you train to be a Pure Guard. As a Pure Guard, you will make many expeditions to collect moss since it is getting colder. During this time, you will sneak the bags of flecks back to us. We will burn them. When you have at least ten bags of flecks out of the Pure Ones' talons, you will go to St. Aggie's and rescue Ursula."

"Ten bags?" Taylor cried.

"Now, some information on St. Aggie's. You know by now that they moon blink humans and owlets. Soren and Gylfie had escaped from St. Aggie's and resisted being moon blinked by whispering the legends of Ga'Hoole to them. Just saying the word "Ga'Hoole" will make your gizzard— uh, I mean, your brain escape the damaging effects of moon blinking." Taylor blinked. Moon blinking for young owls was simply forcing them to sleep at night when they're supposed to be asleep at day. What was moon blinking supposed to do for humans? Ezylryb seemed to read her mind.

"St. Aggie's owls moon blink humans by forcing them to sleep at day. Most of the time, this didn't work. So they developed a new way to moon blink them. Yes, they still slept at day, but with flecks. They had to wear a neck strap with pockets filled with flecks, which disturbs their brain and hypnotizes them. Now, you can avoid this if you wear this…" A necklace dropped from his neck. It was a solid amber bead with a thin black line running through it. It was just like Ursula's amber necklace.

"Amber acts like a magnet," said Ezylryb in a somewhat mysterious voice. "Just give it a rub." He took it off and gave it to Taylor. She blinked again. How is amber like a magnet? It is not any sort of metal. She wasn't in the Metals Chaw, so how was she supposed to know this stuff? She put it around her neck anyway. When she took a closer look at it, she could see a tiny insect fossilized in the amber. It looked like a kind of butterfly, and the patterns on its wings were strange. They looked like they were moving.

_Maybe it's just me,_ she thought.

"I sure do hope you were paying attention," hissed Ezylryb. "Now go get some sleep. You'll need all the time you can get to prepare for this mission." There was a hard gleam in his eye as he added crustily, "We're counting on you." Taylor felt guilt settle in her as she flew out of the hollow using her black wristband.

_God, if I fail, they might kick me out of the Great Ga'Hoole Tree. I won't let myself fail anyway. I need to get Ursula! But what was Ezylryb trying to tell me about this amber? It acts as a magnet? What…? _Taylor hadn't realized that she was walking straight toward Yvonne, with her face buried in a magazine.

"Ow! Watch where you're going, Taylor!"

"Sorry. What are you doing out here so late?"

"I can't sleep. I keep having these nightmares."

"About what?"

"That's none of your business." This girl really irritated Taylor. She was almost as snooty as Otulissa, one of the Spotted Owls of the Great Ga'Hoole Tree. Taylor was surprised that Otulissa wasn't Yvonne's owl partner. At the tree, ever since humans have arrive, or the "Others" as some owls called them, owls only do deeds at night while humans fill in for them during the day. If Yvonne had insomnia, then she'd probably be the first human to do deeds with owls at night.

"Well, I'm off to see if Dewlap has anything for me to do." Taylor suppressed a laugh. She really was going to become an owl. She continued walking to her hollow, studying the amber bead. The wing designs seemed to be shifting and swirling in the most peculiar way. She lay down on her bed and looked at the empty mattress that belonged to Ursula. Her heart twisted painfully. Was she ever going to see Ursula again? And when she got to the Pure Ones, would she have to wear battle claws? The Battle Chaw was a new chaw, made when the first human got to the Great Ga'Hoole Tree. Other new chaws would include the Collector Chaw, where people and owls were sent off to find anything useful for the Great Ga'Hoole Tree. The human battle claws were brand new, only created a couple weeks ago. That was when Maya had arrived at the Great Tree. She had no idea how to handle them. How was she supposed to fly in them? Would the Pure Ones see straight through here? She extinguished these thoughts as she slowly fell asleep, thinking about the terrifying Barn Owls.


	3. Only One Day Before

_This chapter may contain spoilers if you hven't read the series yet…_

_"A human's brain is much stronger in the Ga'Hoolian world. That is why they are able to acquire such extraordinary powers when they travel to this realm, where only owls dwelled once. _

_If something should interfere with the human's brain, their ability also malfunctions and eventually becomes involuntary to the user. It is just like an owl going yeep, when its wings lock and it can't do anything about it because the wings automatically grow still. The infiltration of the human brain is most likely to be caused by…"_

"Flecks! It even mentions flecks in this book." Taylor was studying hard for the upcoming flight to the Pure Ones. She needed to know what flecks were, the uses of flecks, they ways of flecks, the effects of flecks, and a little bit of Krakish. All according to Ezylryb. But there almost were no books that could tell her about flecks. Now she was reading of how humans got their abilities in the Ga'Hoolian world. She needed her ability for the Pure Ones. She continued reading.

"_The Ga'Hoole power is determined by the human's experience in the human world. For example, if a person has had a lot of things to do with water, then they would have the skill of bending and controlling water, or hydrokinesis. But there are some abilities that are not based on anything that the user has done before. One of these is eye changing color. Yes, the color of the eye changes depending on the person's mood and aura. This ability is absurdly rare and has not yet been owned by any known human in the Ga'Hoolian World. Continuing on, the ability to move objects with your mind…"_

"Blah, blah, blah…" Taylor closed the book and picked out an English to Krakish dictionary. When she tried to actually say the words, it sounded like she was speaking while choking on something.

"Erragh means rage and issen means ice…My god, what kind of miserable language is this?"

"The ancient language of the Northern Kingdoms!" barked a gruff voice half filled with anger. "You better respect it 'cause it'll do you good tomorrow night, missy!" Taylor had completely forgotten that Ezylryb was always in the library, eating dried caterpillars. That was why she rarely visited it. It was bad enough his eye had issues. His three-taloned foot could make five owls go yeep in half a second. But she still read the books that Ursula had stowed in their hollow.

_Ursula! Don't worry, I'm coming for you!_ Taylor continued to study for a few more minutes when her owl partner, Daare, a Spotted Owl, flew up to her.

"You're supposed to be sleeping, Daare."

"I know. But I can't fall asleep thinking you're gonna be going to the Pure Ones tomorrow."

"I'll be alright. Don't worry about me."

"That's what everyone says. It's not always true."

"I promise I'll return, Daare."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"She'll be fine, boy." Ezylryb had landed on the table where Taylor was reading. She stiffened, staring at the deformed foot which only bore three talons. She started to feel a little dizzy.

"Rest assured, Taylor will come back in time. Don't you worry about it. Now go get some rest, your chaw will be doing some hard work tonight." Daare blinked twice and fluttered out of the library. Taylor looked down at her amber necklace. Hadn't the insect's wings been black, not green? What in the name of Glaux was this thing?

"That's a bug from the Northern Kingdoms," said Ezylryb, watching her study the butterfly. "It's called the "issen borgerr," or the ice butterfly." He then whispered, "Just give it a rub when you get to St. Aggie's. Then it'll start to work."

"What-what do you mean by that?" asked Taylor testily. But Ezylryb just flew off without saying another word. Then Octavia, his nest-maid snake, slithered in.

"Taylor, dear, are you studying those Krakish words?"

"Yeah. Why do I need to know how to speak Krakish anyway? It's not like they have recruits from the Northern Kingdoms or anything." Octavia just looked at her with her two eyeless indents on the sides of her head, which scared Taylor a little.

_Wonder why her scales are differently colored from the rest of the nest-maid snakes around here. I'm pretty sure she was originally not born a nest-maid snake…_ Octavia felt that Taylor was thinking about her appearance.

"You're right, Taylor. I'm not a nest-maid snake. I serve as one, but I am not one myself. Although I do enjoy acting as one. Nest-maid snakes always have so much freedom, but they're weak. But still full of justice and do hard labor, that's what nest-maid snakes are. I'm proud to unofficially become one. But Lyze and I— we both come from the Northern Kingdoms."

"What?" Taylor gaped at her. She had heard rumors that Octavia wasn't even born blind, but she always thought those were just rumors and nothing else. And who was Lyze? She had heard stories of the legendary Lyze of Kiel who had fought in the War of the Ice Claws in the Northern Kingdoms. But he had disappeared. But now Octavia used his name and described him as an old friend. Was that the same Lyze of Kiel? Octavia sensed Taylor's puzzlement.

"Lyze of Kiel was brave and fierce, but he did not disappear. No, Lyze himself is living at the Great Tree right now!" Taylor nearly fell off her chair.

"Wh-what…! That's impossible!"

"No it isn't, dear. Lyze came with me to the Great Tree. He was seeking a peaceful place to rest after that terrible loss…Oh!" Octavia started to sob. Taylor was thoroughly confused now. What in the name of hagsmire was Octavia talking about? Whatever it was, it must have been awfully tragic since the old fat snake was crying now. Tears were pouring out of her eye dents.

"Octavia, it's all right."

"N-no, it's okay, dear. How silly of me to start crying so suddenly. Did Ezylryb tell you how to use that amber bead of yours?"

"He told me that I needed to rub it or something."

"Okay, good."

"But what will it do just by rubbing it?"

"You'll see, dear. You just need to use it when you really need it. Be careful of flecks, Taylor." Octavia crawled out of the library and to Madame Plonk's hollow. Taylor sighed and went to find another book. She found one that could contain information on flecks. It was titled _"Metals and Stone-Related Disturbances of the Human Brain and Owl Gizzard."_ The words were engraved on the side in giant gold letters.

"Man, book titles are long here! But this could be useful." Taylor flipped open the book and started to read from the middle.

_"Stone stunning is one way to make an owl disoriented and blank. This occasionally happens when one is enforced to sleep by a large amount of rock, usually in a stone maze. When they wake up, their gizzards and brains do not function the way they are supposed to. Blacksmiths' forges are usually just small caves, but they do not get stone stunned because a cave has a large enough opening. In a maze, the owl or person does not know the way out and gets confused in the first place before they fall asleep. Stone stunning is literally a difficult strategy to explain, because not all people get caught up in such a way when they sleep near rock walls."_

"Strategy? This is used for a purpose?" Taylor continued reading.

_"Some may use stone stunning to abduct other owls and people. It is like moon blinking, when they're transformed into mindless slaves and soldiers and used."_

"I wonder if the Pure Ones do that," pondered Taylor. Chloe poked her head in.

"Taylor, there you are. I've been searching for you everywhere. What are you doing here? You haven't been to the Great Ga'Hoole library since about a month ago because of Ezylryb." She looked around. "Well, I can see he's not here right now. What're you reading?" She walked over to see the book that Taylor was holding.

"_Metals and Stone-Related Disturbances of the Human Brain and Owl Gizzard._ Why are you reading this?"

"Uh…Ezylryb wanted me to read this," Taylor lied. She remembered that Ezylryb did not want her to tell anyone about her mission. Chloe raised an eyebrow.

"Why would he tell you to read this? He's not your chaw leader."

"Yeah, but he just told me to find this book for some reason."

"Well, maybe it's just for a good cause."

_That is true. _Taylor looked down at the heavy book. _This is supplying me with info on what the Pure Ones and St. Aggie's might do to me. Now I really do know how dangerous those flecks are. I'll need to be careful, and I must find Ursula! _


	4. In the Canyonlands

_This is a weird place,_ thought Ursula as she was led through a narrow passageway between two canyon walls. There was a line of children and teenagers in front of her, and the leader was a rather thin man with no expression on his face. He had removed Ursula's black wristband, so she couldn't fly out of here. But he had also taken something else from her. Why would they want such an unimportant item?

"This is the glaucidium," said the man as the people stepped out into a wide clearing. There were other splits in the walls where children were walking in.

"What do you do here?" asked Ursula glumly. The man flinched.

"Don't ask questions!" he barked. "Questions are never allowed here and have severe consequences. They are a thought of lower nobility. I don't want to hear another word outta you, 96-17."

_96-17. They call that a name around here? And what is with them and questions? It's only a question! _ Ursula glared at the man. _This is ridiculous. What kind of place uses numbers as names and forbids questions?_ A teenage boy standing next to Ursula saw the look on her face.

"You might wanna consider smiling a little," he whispered. "Or they're gonna think you're a haggard."

"Who are you? What's a haggard?"

"My name is Tim, but they gave me the name 88-3. What's yours?"

"I'm Ursula. My number is 96-17."

"Well, unless we want to get in trouble, I guess I should call you by your number. A haggard to them is someone who is resistant to their ways."

"What will they do to us if we ask questions?"

"I'm not sure…But I heard once that this Barn Owl chick asked a question, and he was plucked." Ursula gasped.

"Plucked! You mean they ripped out all his feathers?"

"They plucked only the downy feathers on his wings. But if they can do that to an owlet, then they'll do something worse to us."

"Quiet back there!" bellowed the man. Tim and Ursula immediately silenced. She looked around at the glaucidium. The sun still shone high and the light beat down on her face. She had been sure that the St. Aggie's patrol would kill her after Taylor flew away, but they brought her here instead. What did they want from her? What was so special about her?

"Here you go. Each person takes one." The man was passing out neckbands. Ursula took one and saw that they had little pockets filled to the brim with sparkly stuff.

_Flecks!_ Her brain screamed. She now understood what these St. Aggie's thugs were trying to do. _They're trying to moon blink us._ Everyone lined up along the edge of the glaucidium, near the walls. A woman's voice boomed throughout the clearing.

"All right, people! The sleep march will now begin. You will march around the glaucidium (and be sure to get a lot of sunlight,) repeating your real name over and over again. Not your number, but your current name. When the alarm sounds for you to stop, look up at the sun and go to sleep. Be sure your face is tipped so that it receives direct light while you sleep. Do not sleep in any other way. Make sure your neckbands are fastened tightly around your neck, and we begin…NOW!" A loud buzz sounded, and then the whole glaucidium was filled with the sounds of people saying their names.

"Ursula, Ursula…" Ursula looked around her. She spotted a short little girl trembling as she said her name. A stern looking man strode over to her and yelled in her ear, "GET A GRIP!" The girl instantly straightened up and continued to repeat her name.

"Ursula!" called a voice. Ursula swiveled her head around and saw Tim walking a few feet behind her. "Don't fall asleep!" The buzz came again and everyone stopped abruptly.

"SLEEP!" screeched the woman. They all obediently looked up indirectly at the sun and closed their eyes. "77-7, stop shaking and follow orders!"

_She must be talking to the little girl,_ thought Ursula. When she closed her eyes to sleep, a strange vibration took over her brain. She opened her eyes. The vibrating continued.

"What's happening?" She felt the neckband.

_I get it. Even if humans are forced to sleep at day, they don't get moon blinked. But with flecks near them, it increases the chance of them getting moon blinked. I gotta get this off…_

But as Ursula reached for her neckband, the man who had led her group to the glaucidium seized her hand.

"Don't worry. We have a special place for you to sleep…"

Taylor sat in the dining hollow, staring into nothingness. Tonight was the night when she would be leaving for the Pure Ones. She chewed her food tastelessly. Carrie noticed her nervousness.

"What's wrong, Taylor?"

"Huh? Oh, uh…nothing. Just a little bummed about a chaw test today."

"A writing test or a fighting test?"

"A writing test. Ha! If it was a fighting test, I bet I'd get an A+!" Taylor cleared her plate and an owl picked it up in her talons and flew off. "Where's Ilene?"

"I don't know. She's usually up really early."

"Well, I'm sure she'll join us soon," said Sean, biting into his omelet. Taylor ran out of the hollow at full speed and skidded to a stop in front of the entrance to Ilene's hollow. She was lying on her bed, sound asleep.

"Meh, she'll wake up soon." Ilene's roommates were Jacob and Simon, the two Asian brothers. Only a few hollows had three people in them.

"Taylor," someone sang. It was Emily. "Ezylryb wants to see you!" Taylor groaned and flew off toward his hollow.

"You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Yes. As you know, tonight is the big night. You do not need to pack anything, but you must be sure that you have that amber with you at all times. And you will need to conceal your wristband when you get there, or they will know that you are from the Great Ga'Hoole Tree."

"Yes sir."

"At St. Aggie's, think about the Great Ga'Hoole Tree. Think about the stories that you have heard about us. That will help you resist moon blinking, but it will not be the only thing that will help you. Try to find Ursula if she is still, you know…around. After that, I want you to sneak into the library of St. Aggie's. It will allow easy escape for you."

"But what if they recognize me?"

"They won't. And besides, it's the owl patrol that attacked you, not the human patrol. Take this…" Ezylryb dropped a compass into her hand. "This will guide you. St. Aggie's is southwest, but from your position takeoff from here, you'll be flying northeast. The Pure Ones are settled in a castle in the Forest Kingdom of Ambala, not hard to spot. I wish you luck tonight and please do be careful of flecks." 


	5. Terri's Deepest Thoughts

_**This may also contain spoilers -_- so if you haven't read the third book of the series, you probably wouldn't want to read this chapter!**_

The sun had set and Madame Plonk had begun to sing her song. Taylor will miss the peaceful music when she gets to the Pure Ones. She had heard that the High Tyto, or the king of the Pure Ones, strictly prohibits music. Everyone knew now that the High Tyto was Soren's brother, Kludd, who had shoved him from his nest when he was just a chick. That was how Soren had gotten captured by St. Aggie's. It still seemed like a miracle to Taylor that he and Gylfie had actually managed to escape that horrible place. Her heart sank. Ursula was not able to escape. What had become of her?

"Taylor," called Terri. She had been looking outside for her. "Wanna come to the lounge? It's getting cold outside."

"Uh, s-sure…I just need to ask my chaw ryb a question." The rybs of the Battle Chaw was a man called Danryb. The other ryb was an owl called Vilaryb. At first Danryb had thought that calling a teacher "ryb" was weird, because he thought they had meant the food rib.

Taylor lied about going to them. Tonight was the night she had to leave. Ezylryb's words came back to her.

"Make sure you have that amber with you at all times." Taylor still didn't know what Ezylryb wanted her to do with the amber necklace. But she was fascinated by the small ice butterfly fossilized in it. But then, a thought came to her head.

_What if the butterfly was alive?_ Its wings were constantly changing color and Taylor was sure she wasn't hallucinating. If it was dead, the wings wouldn't do that, sort of like a bone that can't make cells when it's dead.

Madame Plonk's song ended.

"I'm leaving now," Taylor whispered to herself. The compass was in her pocket and the amber was around her neck. She was ready.

"Taylor." She turned around and faced Ezylryb, his squinted eye staring hard at her. "We're counting on you."

"Okay, Ezylryb. I won't let you down." Taylor bowed down to him, and then took off into the night as the crescent moon faded behind a cloud.

In the lounge, Terri, Emily, Carrie, Sean, Axelle and a lot of other people were watching TV and listening to music. It was an enormous room, about three quarters of the size of a gym. From where Terri had entered, there was a flat screen TV in one corner with several couches and chairs and game systems. Then there was a mini library, which is also a computer room. There was some sort of non-adult bar next to the TV area with a coffee and hot chocolate machine. There was also an ice cream and snow cone machine. There was a pool table on her right and a section where people just talk to each other and listen to tunes.

"Hey, I heard that there were Pure Ones patrols flying toward Beyond the Beyond," said a kid named Roberto. "But no one knows why they're going there. The patrol doesn't seem to come back after a while."

"Geez, where's Taylor?" muttered Terri. "She should've been done visiting Danryb now…Maybe the others have seen her." She took a sip of hot chocolate from her mug and walked over to her twin, Chloe.

"Chloe, have you seen Taylor?"

"Yeah, but she said she needed to discuss something with Bubo." Terri raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, what?"

"Taylor told me she needed to talk to Bubo."

"When did she say that?"

"Like about six minutes ago." That's when Terri had bumped into Taylor. But why had she said that she needed to ask Danryb and Vilaryb something? According to Chloe, shouldn't she have been heading towards Bubo and Maya's forge? Something was strange. Why would Taylor lie to her? Or was she lying to both of them? And she still hadn't come to the break room. Deep down, Terri began to have a dreadful feeling that Taylor was not at the Great Tree.

"I…I'll be back." Terri set down her mug and started flying (with the wristband) back to her hollow. Then as she passed by one hollow, she caught the glimpse of a figure lying in bed. She slowed down and flew back to that hollow. It was Ilene, still in bed. Had she been asleep all morning? Then Terri saw her roommate, Simon standing over her, gently shaking her.

"Wake up, Ilene…" he pleaded. "Please, wake up." Terri strode inside.

"What's wrong?" she asked. Simon looked at her, his eyes filled with worry.

"Ilene won't wake up. No matter how hard I try, she just won't." Ilene was still breathing, they could tell by the rise and fall of the blanket, but her eyes were closed as if locked shut.

"Ilene!" said Terri. She roughly shook her. "Ilene, Ilene!" But Ilene made no response, only turned over.

"She's been like this since morning," said Jacob, who suddenly stepped in. "I wish there was some way to be able to wake her up."

"Go get Matron!" said Terri. "I need to go." She flew out of that hollow and continued to her own. When she got there, Taylor was nowhere to be seen.

"Taylor!" she called desperately. There was no answer. Terri turned on the light and saw Ursula's piece of whirlyglass dangling form the ceiling. It cast a multicolored light throughout the hollow. As beautiful as it was, Terri kept searching for Taylor when she saw a tiny hole in the wall. It looked like it had chipped out on purpose.

"What…" She peeked through the hole. It was filled with something. Terri grabbed a toothpick and started to pry it out of the hole. It was a thin piece of blue string. Blue was Ursula's favorite color.

"If I pull this, will something come out?" she wondered aloud. She yanked it and a stone box flew out of the wall and landed with a clatter on the stone floor. Terri looked down at the piece of crinkled parchment that sat inside of it. It said: Return Portals to the Human World. She just stood there, staring down at it. This was the map that Ursula had traded from Trader Mags. She bent down and picked it up, studying the marks that had been made on it that showed where the return portals were. Humans rarely went back to the human world after going to the Ga'Hoolian World. Terri's name had been Talia. Everyone who goes to the Ga'Hoolian World gets a second name. They will use this name for the time in this world. Chloe's name had been Courtney and Sean's name had been Shane. Axelle couldn't seem to remember her name. In fact, she couldn't remember any part of her life in the human world.

As Terri scanned the map, she spotted a faded marking that was out of place, far away from all the others. It was in Beyond the Beyond, where the volcanoes and dire wolves were. The marking was on the volcano itself.

"But no one has ever found a portal to Beyond the Beyond. Hey, didn't Roberto say that the Pure Ones were sending owls to that place? Probably want to hire a blacksmith or hireclaws…" It suddenly hit Terri like a ten foot thick wall of bricks. There was another reason why the Pure Ones were going there, not just for hireclaws. They were going there to find the return portal there and travel to the human world to recruit not only owls, but humans themselves. The Pure Ones often enslaved several Barn Owls, yes, but they wouldn't be so desperate to go to Beyond the Beyond unless… Terri's stomach lurched and the dread grew to its highest point.

The Pure Ones were launching an attack on the Great Ga'Hoole Tree.


	6. Evil in Taylor's Sight

"Let's see, I'm heading south right now…" Taylor looked down at her compass. Big, slow waves were rising over the top of the Sea of Hoolemere as she flew across. She just needed to look for a huge building in Ambala, shouldn't be hard to spot. In the distance, she saw tall trees and the mouth of a river running into the sea.

"That must be the river with flecks," said Taylor to herself. "But if the Pure Ones are getting their flecks from that river, then that means the castle shouldn't be too far from there." She adjusted the wristband and continued flying. There was a small rectangular screen on it that told time, direction, and place. Right now, it said: 9:43 PM, Sea of Hoolemere, going south. Taylor breathed out a long, heavy sigh. She went over what she was going to do when she got to the castle.

First, she was going to approach one of the Pure Guards. They should take her to the High Tyto. Then she was going to introduce herself as…what was that name? Arianne? And then she was going to tell the story of how she didn't want any part of her family in the human world, so she came here in search of the Pure Ones. If they accept her, then she will prove herself to be one "worthy" of becoming a Pure Guard.

The castle ruins appeared as she got closer. There were several owls—all Barn Owls and humans in there, doing dirty work and playing with food. Taylor stared at them. They were playing with a dead rat. She staggered mid-air to the side and threw up above a tree next to the castle. Then she saw two Pure Guards standing by the castle entrance, away from all the others.

_Ah, perfect!_ Thought Taylor, gliding down to them. She landed in front of the two guards. One was a Barn Owl and the other was a boy the same age as her.

"What are you doing here?" the owl squawked. Taylor swallowed an angry retort. Pure Ones weren't polite at all.

"What d'you want?" asked the boy sternly.

"…Where is your lord, the High Tyto?" demanded Taylor. The two looked taken aback and looked at each other as if asking, "How does she know of our High Tyto?"

"Listen, I want to speak to him now!" said Taylor, raising her chin. The guards looked at each other again and nodded.

"Right this way, ma'am." The boy shoved open the huge, worn out castle door and led her in. Everyone immediately stopped playing catch with the dead rat and looked at her curiously.

_Sicko's,_ thought Taylor grimly. _What kind of person plays catch with a rat? The Guardians are always noble and dignified. _She followed the boy to a high perch where a Barn Owl, the largest Barn Owl that she had ever seen, watched over the castle. He was wearing a terrifying metal helmet and missing an eye. Taylor's heart nearly exploded with fear. It was Kludd, Soren's brother, or Metal Beak. His good eye rolled towards her. A Barn Owl almost as large as Metal Beak flew down to the Pure Guard. She looked at Taylor.

"Who might this be?" she asked in a seemingly kind voice. The boy bowed down to her and beckoned for Taylor to do the same.

"This, Madam Pureness, is a stray human that came to us, seeking you." The Barn Owl showed no surprise, just a hard gleam in her eyes.

"Really? Then perhaps she would like to explain why she was searching for us." Taylor stood up and cleared her throat.

_This is it. I hope they believe me…_

_Back at the Great Ga'Hoole Tree…_

"You're meaning to tell me that she's been asleep for 22 hours?"

"Just shut up and start thinking about some way to awake her!" Jacob and Matron were arguing over Ilene's predicament. Simon was still shaking her and calling her, but nothing they did was working. Ilene simply would not open her eyes. She was still breathing, which told them that she was still alive. She hadn't fainted because she kept kicking and mumbling in her sleep.

"Ugh, Ilene! Please wake up! I'm begging you!" Simon now shook Ilene violently and slapped her lightly. Ilene just rolled over to the other side with a moan and continued sleeping.

"Matron?" A human nurse named Shale poked her head in. "That dowsing rod of yours just got delivered."

"Ah, good. Give it to me." She handed Matron a strange looking stick.

"What's that supposed to do?" asked Jacob.

"It detects flecks nearby. Right now, it's not reacting, so there is none around…W-whoa!" The rod suddenly became active and jumped out of Matron's talons. It seemed to be violently trembling as it landed on Ilene's bed and rolled toward her head. All of them, including Shale, looked at the rod curiously. It seemed to have stuck on the side of Ilene's head.

"What's that mean?" asked Simon.

"The stick seems to be attracted to Ilene," said Jacob.

"But then that means…!" Matron looked at Shale, who said in a shaky voice:

"Ilene has been infected with flecks."

"I've heard of stories of the Pure Ones," began Taylor. She tried not to swallow too hard. "My parents always told me it wasn't true, and I do believe I hate them for saying that. I always had a hunch you were here, and I was right. So I left them and came in search of you…" Nyra, the Barn Owl whom was addressed as "Madam Pureness," was listening intently on Taylor's story.

"I'm glad I found you," she said, nearly choking on the words. "My family is stupid and has no common sense. I know that I might not seem like the humblest human in the world, but I do wish to serve you, Madam Pureness and High Tyto." Metal Beak had been listening to her and now landed beside Nyra.

"You speak loyally." He narrowed his good eye. "But how can we know we trust you?" This time Taylor did swallow hard, which only raised his suspicion.

"You seem nervous. Why might that be, if you've been looking for us?"

"I'm sorry, lord High Tyto. Finally facing you is very exciting for me, if you understand how much I admire the Pure Ones…" Taylor nearly threw up again when she said that. She'd never say that like she meant it!

"What is your name?" growled the High Tyto.

"My name is Arianne. My human world name was Amy."

"Hm…" pondered Nyra. "If I remember correctly, Arianne is a name that means pureness is French." Metal Beak turned toward Taylor.

"How convenient. Now we shall have a human that actually appreciates the jobs we give them."

_Dream on, you half-faced heap of feather grime! Once I'm out of here, I'm going for Ursula._

"There will be many experiences before you learn the Way of Purity and become a Pure Guard," said Nyra, her dark eyes swimming with evil. "Or do you want any other job?" She pointed with her wing toward a miserable looking Sooty Owl picking out bugs in the moss nests with his beak.

"Er, no thanks…" Taylor stepped back.

"There are certain tests that you need to pass- wait." Nyra looked at Taylor's wristband.

_Damn it! I forgot to hide it!_ Taylor thought with horror.

"Where did you get that?" asked Nyra.

"Oh, this?" She tried to sound normal. "I found it near the river over there. I never thought it could allow me to fly though. Should I remove it now? Will it do anything bad to me?" Nyra's eyes were dark with suspicion, but then she relaxed and said, "No, it's okay. You can keep it on if you like."

_So they're not only evil, but they're stupid. How can anyone be evil and stupid at the same time?_

"For now, you will be assigned bedmaker, Arianne. That means you'll have to clean up all the humans' beds around here!" barked Metal Beak, or the High Tyto. Taylor bowed as nobly as she could.

"Yes, High Tyto."

"If you work hard enough, you might be able to try out as a Pure Guard and be given access to a very sacred place."

_He probably means where they keep the flecks,_ thought Taylor. _I'll really need to please them. And then I'll be able to destroy the flecks and rescue Ursula!_ She gulped. _If she's still alive._

"Her Pureness!" The owl that had been guarding the door with the boy now landed beside Nyra.

"What is it?" she asked.

"The kraals you wanted arrived."

"Ah, good. Do they have the weapons too?

"Yes, Her Pureness." Taylor stood still in her bowed position, frozen with horror. Kraals! Did the owl possibly mean the kraals from the Northern Kingdoms? The ones that paint themselves up like rainbows and act as pirates? And the weapons! Taylor had read about the ice weapons. There was the ice splinter, a thin icicle-like shard of ice that could kill a human in one hit. Then there was an ice dagger, which could dewing and slice of an arm in one swipe. The ice sword was worse. It was the deadliest weapon that Taylor had ever heard of. But why would Nyra want to hire those pirates? Why in Glaux's name would she want them? They were nothing but disobedient thugs. And now, Taylor saw a whole flock of them flying through the castle doors and surrounding Metal Beak and Nyra. They all looked overconfident and proud, which wasn't surprising. But what did surprise Taylor was that one of the kraals almost didn't have any color on his feathers and seemed to glare in the most hateful way at the two Barn Owls…


	7. The Pure One's Lair: First Day

"Madam Pureness…I-I mean, General. I mean Madam General…"

"Just get on with it!" screeched Nyra impatiently. A big Snowy Owl with multicolored feathers now spoke up. Taylor figured he must be the leader of the kraals.

"We received your message in the Northern Kingdoms. Now, what is this enemy you speak of?" Nyra lifted her chin.

"They are called the Guardians of Ga'Hoole." Taylor froze up again. What were they planning against her friends?

"They threaten to destroy our plan of peace and superiority. But with our small army, we are powerless against them."

_PEACE!_ Taylor screamed in her head. _What kind of peace would the Pure Ones ever want? They only want Tytos to rule this world. _

"So we need your help," continued Nyra. "We have already sent troops to Beyond the Beyond. They are directed to find a return portal there." The pirates stared at her blankly.

"…A return portal is a door that leads back to the human world. Our patrols are currently trying to still find that door. Once they find it, they will go to the human world and recruit some owls from us, and humans probably." Taylor stayed in her bowed position, listening to every word they said. The human world! What was going to become of it if the Pure Ones started living in it? The horror!

"And what would you like us to do, Madam Pureness?" asked the Snowy Owl. Nyra shook her head.

"Don't you get it up to this point, you nitwit? We want you to help us fight the Guardians so we can fulfill our plan." A Screech Owl stepped forward. It was the one that had almost no color.

"What's in it for us?" he said testily. Nyra and Metal Beak looked at each other and back at them.

"You'll all get battle claws and battle hammers, as many as you request." The pirates cheered and hooted with glee. Taylor stood up and looked at the Screech. It was strange. He didn't seem to be celebrating like all the other kraals. He was probably in a bad mood.

"Alright," said Metal Beak. He pointed toward Taylor. "You, Arianne, go to the room in the far northwest corner of the castle and begin your duty there."

"Yes, sir…" He looked at her.

"I-I mean…Lord High Tyto." Taylor rushed off to the given direction. The room was a dingy one, with cracked stone walls and spider webs everywhere. The beds were just frayed mattresses laid out on the ground, all dusty and whatnot.

_Damn, I have to sleep on one of those?_ Taylor whined in her head. _What sort of sick and twisted place is this?_ She shouldn't judge a place just by its beds, but this place was disgusting.

"Hey, you!" a new voice shouted. It was a girl about the same age as Taylor. "Hurry up and fix up my bed!"

"I'm sorry, but you're not the boss of me." Taylor glared at her. "The High Tyto is. And I was going to clean all the beds in this room anyway."

"Well, get to it then, slowpoke!" sneered the girl. Taylor chucked a dirty pillow at her and continued fluffing the other pillows. As she did, clouds of gray dust rose in the air. Then suddenly she remembered it was night, and she was doing work.

_Ugh, I'm gonna miss the Great Tree…_

_At the Great Ga'Hoole Tree…_

Simon sat on the bed next to Ilene as Shale tried to pry the stick off of her head.

"It's like it's super glued!" she whined. "But that just means that there are more flecks than we thought."

"How did she get like this?" asked Matron. Shale shrugged.

"Ilene was rescued from Ambala. She might have had contact with the river of flecks there…"

"And they got in her brain somehow?" said Jacob. "What'll happen to her now?" Shale finally managed to pull the stick out of the flecks' range.

"I don't know. It is almost midnight, and she is still asleep."

"So…she'll just keep on sleeping forever?" said Simon quietly.

"She's bound to wake up anytime," replied Matron. She puffed up. "But for now, it seems like she's dreaming about something strange." It was true. Ilene's eyebrows kept raising and her hands kept grabbing air, as if she was trying to hold something in her dream.

"We must get her to the infirmary now and start a scan of her brain. I fear there is something else that is disturbing her. Simon, get off." Shale nudged Simon aside and held Ilene in her arms. She and Matron flew out of the hollow. Jacob watched them go, and then went to his brother's side.

"You're really worried about her, huh?" he asked rhetorically. Simon looked out the hollow at the night sky that stretched from one side of the sea to the other.

"I'm the one who brought Ilene to the tree. I'm her best friend. She was so young back then…But if she had caught flecks back then, why do they take effect now?"

It was true. Simon remembered that night, when he was on the Search and Rescue patrol, he spotted Ilene in Ambala. She was just a baby then, and Simon had immediately started taking care of her as if she were his sister. Then as she got older, the brotherly connection broke and they started treating each other just as friends would.

"Maybe flecks have a different affect on younger people than older ones," said Jacob. He yawned. "Anyway, you should get some sleep." He crawled into his bed and quickly dozed off.

_Back to Taylor…_

"Alright, Arianne. You can rest now."

_Finally!_ Taylor yawned and lay down on her bed. As she did, she felt something sharp jab into her back. It was a shattered piece of glass jutting out from the mattress.

"What kind of beds are these?" she muttered angrily under her breath. She gingerly pulled out the shard of glass and tossed it aside. The mattress was okay, except for it being dirty and dusty. She had no time to fluff up her own "bed." She just wanted to rest now. She closed her eyes and soon drifted into a deep sleep, dreaming of her friends at the Great Ga'Hoole Tree.


	8. The Bad News

A worried hush had fallen in on the Great Tree ever since Terri brought up the theory that Pure Ones were recruiting owls, and possibly humans, from the human world. Boron, Barran, Ezylryb, and all the other rybs and the rest of the Great Ga'Hoole Tree were all gathered in the dining room. Boron stepped up.

"Ahem. Now, you all have heard that Terri discovered this map…" He held up a piece of parchment. "…In her hollow. The map had obviously been put there by someone anonymous, since she and Chloe have claimed that they, or their roommates, never even knew that there was a map hidden in there." Barran now spoke.

"This map has the locations of all return portals in the Southern Kingdoms. We think that there is even another map of return portals of the Northern Kingdoms in that hollow. But whatever the case, there have been Pure One patrols flying in and out from Beyond the Beyond, and each time they come back, they have more owls and a couple humans with them. This proves that they are most likely taking in new soldiers from the human world by accessing a return portal." Boron continued the speech.

"Now, Terri's first thought was that the Pure Ones are planning to launch an attack against the Great Ga'Hoole Tree." All the owls suddenly wilfed and the humans stared up at Boron in shock. "However, we have not any evidence to prove that…yet. The Pure Ones may also be launching an attack against St. Aggie's and not us." Everyone relaxed.

"BUT!" They all snapped their gazes back to the Snowy king. "That is of our concern too. St. Aggie's has the largest storage of flecks. Glaux knows what terrible things flecks can do to us. Yesterday, we found out that our dear friend Ilene has been afflicted with flecks and seems to be in some kind of eternal sleep. If flecks can even get inside a human's body without them noticing it, who knows what they Pure Ones would do to all owlkind and mankind if they get control of the flecks?" Bubo raised a talon.

"Why don't we all send someone to spy on the Pure Ones?" Out of the corner of her eye, Terri saw Ezylryb flinch. But Boron shook his head.

"No. It's too risky. If we send a whole lot of people to the Pure Ones, they will instantly guess it's some sort of trick. And if we send them one by one, they will still be suspicious because of the great increase of people who actually want to join them."

"But we must do something!" cried Vilaryb. Everyone started chatting with worry to each other.

"What will we do?"

"We can't go to war, if they have even more soldiers than us!"

"Too many of us will die!"

"We can't even _try_ to fight them!"

"QUIET!" Boron's command rang throughout the dining hollow. He looked at Barran and nodded.

"Also, Terri says that Taylor seems to be missing," she said. "Has anyone seen her?" Ezylryb flinched again.

"Not me."

"Not me!"

"I didn't see her this morning."

"Terri, please tell us what happened to make you think that Taylor left the tree." Everyone looked at her.

"Well, last night I told her to come hang out with me and my friends. But when she didn't come a while later, I suspected something was up, so I went to find her. She wasn't in the hollow, and that's when I found the map. I checked in all the other hollows around us, but she wasn't in any of them." Terri stopped to clear her throat. "When I went back to the break room, no one had seen her either." Everyone was silent either with astonishment or horror.

"I went to Danryb and Vilaryb because that's where Taylor said she was going…But they didn't know what I was talking about. So they started to search for her too."

"We were going to report it to you, sir." Danryb was now speaking. "But you were already asleep and we didn't want to disturb you."

"Okay. We are going to send a Search and Rescue patrol—"

"No!" All heads swiveled to face Ezylryb.

"No," he repeated more calmly. "I have sent Taylor on a special mission to get a book we have lost. It will take her a while, because the book is only found in one place in Silverveil." Eyes swam with confusion. Was the real reason of Taylor's disappearance because of a book?

"This book is very precious to me," Ezylryb briefly explained. "And it contains valuable information."

"What kind of information?" a boy called from the back.

_Oh dear, how am I supposed to answer this…_ Ezylryb pressed on.

"It tells about flecks." That was the first thing that popped into his mind, but everyone, even the rybs, seemed to understand anyway.

"Nonetheless, we will have to continue without Taylor," said Mikeryb, leader of the Search and Rescue Chaw. Maya nodded in agreement.

"Maya, you and Bubo go prepare the battle claws and battle hands." Boron looked out over the crowd. "We need as many as we can to prepare for the war that's coming…if there is one." Battle hands were like battle claws, except they're designed to fit a human hand instead of talons. They were first invented by Maya, who had trained as an apprentice of the Rogue Smith of Silverveil before she came to the Great Tree. She also thought of leaving little spaces on the tips of the battle fingers so she could insert sharp slivers of diamonds. This way, it tore at the opponent more easily…and painfully.

"Sire, you might want to send the Metals Chaw out," said Maya. "We need more iron and diamonds, if not then any kind of hard gem or rock."

"The Colliering Chaw too!" boomed Bubo. "We're nearly outta coals this week! I'll take those lazy bums out till night and they ain't gonna rest until each of them has collected about 50 buckets. And they better have some bonk coals or I'm gonna whoop their scrawny little butts into the right peach-ish shape!" The members of the Colliering Chaw wilfed and shrunk.

"We don't need that much…" muttered Maya.

"If only we had ice weapons," said Suzie, a member of the Weather Chaw. Her owl partner, Khao, perched on her shoulder. "But the only one who has them is Hizashi."

Hizashi was a Japanese girl that had traveled to the Northern Kingdoms from the human world. There, she had become as fierce as any human being could be, but still not evil. She brought her ice weapons with her, which included: six ice splinters, one ice dagger, and one ice scimitar, when she decided to go to the Ga'Hoole Tree. She had gotten wary of the war in the Northern Kingdoms.

There was a strap with three pockets. She carried three of her ice splinters in these pockets and had nearly perfect aim. Because of her skill, Danryb allowed her to get her own pair of battle hands. Hizashi grew stronger. Some say that she had launched an ice splinter at an enemy owl a mile away and still, it hit the poor owl square in the chest. And conveniently, her ability was to make ice out of thin air to make more ice weapons.

"Yes, Hizashi's help will be greatly needed," agreed Dewlap grimly. "We must find her. Where is she?"

"I'm here!" she called. Hizashi was holding her ice scimitar, which would explain why the kids around her were shaking. Her strap was more like a belt, and the three pockets currently did not have any ice splinters in them.

"Hizashi, if I may," began Vilaryb. "Would you mind if I asked you to teach the Battle Chaw how to use ice weapons?" All of the Battle Chaw gasped in astonishment. Hizashi thought for a moment.

"Hm…Alright, I will. But if they try anything on me—" She shot a quick glare at Athena. "—I will quit instantly and keep the skills of the ice weapons to myself."

"Thank you," said Danryb.

Athena was a rude girl who thought acted like she was Barran. She said that she deserved as much respect as a queen just because her second name was a god's name. Hizashi had taken an immediate dislike to her, as did everyone else. Athena had always been jealous of Hizashi because of her ice weapons.

"Everyone will start training immediately. Dismissed!" Everyone scattered. Only Terri was left behind and stared at the sky from the gigantic opening in the ceiling. Dark clouds were beginning to gather. She could sense that dangerous times were coming, besides the fact that she's a cloud reader/weather changer. Suddenly, something called down to her.

"Talia," it said. Terri blinked. Talia had been her name in the human world.

"My name is Terri," she replied. The voice sounded familiar.

"Talia," it called again. A snowflake fluttered down.

"Snow!" gasped Terri. "In the end of summer!" She looked up. It was no mistake. The voice belonged to her other sister.

"Judy?" she whispered.


	9. Pure Ones Lair: Grigath's Sacrifice

"Rise and shine! Well, you can't shine, but you do need to rise. HURRY UP!" There was an angry Pure Guard barking orders around the castle.

"Just shove a rat in your everloving beak!" retorted the Screech owl. Taylor looked at him. He really didn't act like a kraal at all, let alone look like one.

"All rookies immediately report to the Madame Pureness for orders! Move it, you snail balls!" Taylor felt like throwing a rock at the Pure Guard. It was only a matter of time before she was going to die from all this work. Suddenly, she realized that it was still dark.

"What?" she yelled, startling the other owls. "The sun's not even up yet! What's wrong with—" Taylor silenced herself, for Metalbeak was looking directly at her, his dark, soulless eyes burning with fury. She swore she could almost see the fire in his eyes.

"This is your mission for today," Nyra was now speaking. "Since you are all amateurs, you will begin by hunting for the Pure Ones. Make sure you bring back more than ten pieces of prey, or else I'll bring back to my hollow your eyes!"

_This is it! This is my chance!_ Thought Taylor. _All I have to do is find out where the flecks are stored, and then I'm free!_

"Glaux, she's violent isn't she," the Screech owl whispered to Taylor. She looked straight back at him.

"My name's Grigath. What's yours?"

"I'm Taylor. Can you explain why you sound so rebellious against the Pure Ones?" Grigath looked taken aback.

"I mean, if you're a kraal, then you have to be loyal to the Pure Ones," said Taylor. She saw Grigath hesitate. "And why is it you have almost no color at all on your feathers? Last time I checked, kraals paint themselves up like a Glaux-cursed rainbow." Grigath tensed up.

"I…never wanted to be a kraal. But my father was one, you see. So automatically I have to be one."

"Well? What are you idiots waiting for? Go and get us some game!" Nyra let out a terrible screech that frightened away all the owls and humans. The owls flew off while the humans ran off, still shaking because of Nyra's threat.

"This is my chance!" said Taylor, running with the other humans. Grigath flew down beside her.

"You're looking for the flecks, aren't you?" he whispered. Taylor tripped with alarm. Grigath chuckled.

"I could tell that you're not a Pure One."

"How'd you know?"

"That wristband. Only the Guardians have that. You're infiltrating the Pure Ones?" Taylor didn't say anything.

"Come on, Taylor. You can trust me, I swear on my father's grave that I won't tell anyone. To tell the truth, I'm infiltrating the Pure Ones too." Taylor looked at him in shock.

"You are? Why?"

"To free myself from kraals, of course. I need flecks to do that, and I already know where they are. Follow me…" Grigath flew off, with Taylor following in close behind.

"You!" shreed Nyra. "You, Arianne, are supposed to be out hunting!"

"I forgot my spear!" lied Taylor.

"Arianne?" wondered Grigath aloud.

"Shh! It's my fake name here."

"Ohhh."

They waded and ducked into caves and windy paths until they came to a stone shrine. It was loaded with hundreds of bags of flecks.

"Holy Jesus Christ," said Taylor. "Where'd they get all these?"

"Only Glaux knows," said Grigath. "Now how are we gonna get these out of here?" He looked around and spotted a small hole in the wall, then grabbed a spear and started to poke it.

"Whatcha doing?" asked Taylor.

"Trying to get this hole bigger," said Grigath.

"Oh, that's easy."

_Bam._

Taylor punched a bigger hole in the wall.

"Whoa! Okay, this should be big enough to get these fleck bags through." They both grunted as they hauled bags of flecks through the opening. After getting fifteen bags through, Grigath flew off to get a basket to carry them. Taylor could hear him talking to a Pure Guard.

"No, look, al those owls are catching a little too much prey and we can't carry all of it back…Because Nyra told them to!" He returned in frustration, grasping a large straw basket in his talons. Taylor loaded the flecks into them.

"You know, Grigath, we make a great team," she said. Grigath smiled for the first time.

"I'm glad you think that…"

"Why don't you come with me to the Great Ga'Hoole Tree? You could become a Guardian and be free of kraals."

"Oh, I don't know…I mean, the kraals never let me out of their sight and they need me…"

"Don't worry. They won't be able to—"

"HI-YEEEEEEEEEEEEE! So, you are a traitor! I've should've suspected as much from you, _Taylor!_" Nyra swooped down towards them, talons outstretched.

"No!" cried Grigath as he flung himself in front of Taylor. Nyra crashed into him and they were instantly entangled in a fierce battle. Grigath swiped Nyra's facial disk as she jabbed his neck with her beak. Taylor's blood froze when she saw blood oozing out of the neck.

"Run, Taylor!" choked Grigath, gasping for breath as Nyra flung him against a tree.

"Grigath! Noooo!" screamed Taylor as she snatched the basket up and flew away.

"Get the Annihilators! Chase after her! She has our flecks!" Nyra screeched commands to her soldiers. "Once you get her, bring her and the flecks back to me and I will show her how cruel I can be!"


	10. Return to the Tree

_Oh no! _Taylor thought desperately. _This basket is so heavy, I'm not able to fly as fast!_ She could hear the angry screeching of Barn owls behind her and Nyra yelling, "AFTER HER! SHE HAS THE FLECKS!"

"SHUT UP, YOU OLD HAG! AND HERE'S A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR YA!" Taylor swooped down, snapped a branch off a tree, and hurled it at Nyra, who was flying in front of all the other Nyra Annihilators. She dodged to one side, but the branch struck three other owls and they all went plummeting into a lake.

"Ha! Take that!" cheered Taylor. She urged her wristband to make her fly faster. She would need to get to Cape Glaux, but before that, she had to lose Nyra or she would lead them straight to the Great Tree. An idea suddenly began to form in her mind.

"You want these?" Taylor called back, swinging the basket jeeringly at the Pure Ones. Nyra's eyes burned with fury.

"Give them here!" she screamed.

"Make me, fox meat! HAHAHA—" Taylor was struck by an Annihilator as he whizzed by her in battle claws, while the others hung back to eagerly watch Taylor die. She snapped off a thicker branch of a fir tree and swung it towards the owl. Her cheek was bleeding, much to Nyra's delight. He dodged nimbly to a side and flew at her with battle claws outstretched. Taylor knocked him unconscious with her basket and flew back to the lake in which the three owls had fallen into.

"Look, Nyra!" shouted Taylor as she started pouring the bags into the lake.

"No!" shouted Nyra and she and a few other owls lunged for the bags. She caught one right before it hit the water, while the others (accidentally) dove into the water when the bags went underneath the surface.

"Idiots," muttered Taylor. She had only dropped three bags.

"Agh…Ughhhhh!" Nyra grunted in frustration as she swiveled around to face her enemy. "You—"

But Taylor wasn't there anymore, which only increased her rage.

"Madame General," said an Annihilator named Jeramore. "A couple bags missing can't be all that bad. Remember that we still have hundreds more in storage. She didn't get very far."

"Even if she didn't get very far, she still took our flecks," growled Nyra. She suddenly calmed and said, "Don't worry. She'll be back."

_At the Great Ga'Hoole Tree…_

Ezylryb perched on a branch, watching the sun lower itself beneath the horizon. It had only been two days since he sent Taylor on her mission. He popped a dried caterpillar into his beak and chewed it absently. He couldn't send anyone to help Taylor; that would just arouse Metal Beak's suspicions. Suddenly, he spotted a figure flying toward him. It was carrying a basket full of…

"The flecks!" Ezylryb exclaimed, flying out to greet Taylor.

"I haven't been there for two days, and it's already torture!" she gasped. Her arms felt like jello because the flecks were so heavy.

"Here, come into my hollow, but make sure you aren't seen." Ezylryb's bad eye seemed to be in more of a squint than ever. "You still have another part of the mission."

"I…I have twelve bags!" panted Taylor.

"Twelve? Lad, I said to bring back ten bags."

"Well, you see…The other bags someone else was supposed to take away, and…I'll tell you everything in the hollow."

Once they were in the hollow, Ezylrybs started a fire from some dry brush and they tossed the bags of flecks inside. The flecks melted immediately, and Taylor told Ezylryb of the kraals that joined the Pure Ones and of the Screech owl who seemed too out of place to be on their side. She also told him that Grigath had planned to use the flecks to escape from the kraals, but he ended up sacrificing himself because Taylor's mission was more important than his.

"Hm…" pondered Ezylryb as he jabbed a bag deeper into the flames. "So he took the wrath of Nyra for you."

"I guess so, yeah."

"Taylor, there's something you need to learn here." The old owl swallowed another caterpillar. "When you're in times of trouble, sometimes it's best to surrender yourself for the sake of others instead of leaving others behind to their own troubles. You see, Grigath already knew that. He was a noble owl. It's a pity to have lost him; he would've been a great Guardian, I'm sure."

"But what would I need to do to rescue Ursula?" asked Taylor, not knowing if she wanted to hear the answer or not. Ezylryb sighed.

"Listen, Ursula has a strong gizz—I mean, mind. She won't get moonblinked that easily."

"But the flecks! They'll render her mind useless."

"I'm aware of that, but only you can bring her back!" Ezylryb looked at her with his bad eye. Not his good one, his bad one. "Remember what I told you about the necklace. When you get in trouble, rub it! And, you need to whisper the legends of Ga'Hoole to yourself during the moonblinking process. Also, they will make you march around repeating your name hundreds and hundreds of times. This will make you want to never hear your name again, so just repeat "Adrianne", your fake name. You should leave now, it's almost dark."


End file.
